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Headlines: Concerns as boys shun university. Anon, BBC News (January 30, 2007). University is turning into a girl-dominated arena at a frighteningly' quick pace. D. Hofkins, The Sunday Times (February 25, 2007). Boys less likely to go to college, warns charity. J. Meikle, The Guardian (August 28, 2007). Over the past 15 years around 270,000 fewer young men than young women have entered higher education as a result of their lower participation rate. (Trends in Young Participation in Higher Education, HEFCE, January 2010).

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Implications... The biggest problem that universities are confronting is getting working class boys into HE, Brown in North, Too cool for school and its downhill from there (THES, 25 February 2005) If we are not careful, we are going to arrive at a position where young lads are alienated, under-skilled and disadvantaged in the labour market (David Eastwood, HEFCE, 2007) In parts of Britain, white males have more chance of going to prison than entering HE, Swain, THES ( 7 July 2006) The academic gap between the sexes is growing and risks creating a generation of lost young men (The Observer, June 9, 2009).

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A typology of explanations for low HE progression rates amongst boys from lower socio-economic backgrounds Individual Pupil Parent/Household; Peer group Class School Neighbourhood Local community Wider society Societal

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A typology of explanations for low HE progression rates amongst boys from lower socio-economic backgrounds Individual Pupil Parent/Household; Peer group Class School Neighbourhood Local community Wider society Societal

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The typology assessed (ii) Interventions for tackling the under-representation of males from lower socio-economic background in HE. 5 minutes

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Common features of successful projects Local context - indentifying local need Partnership approach Informed by research Use of role models Evaluation – learning from previous events Interactive Competitive element Tapped into boys interests: football, engineering, etc. Pre-GCSE cohort involve other influencers Multiplier effect Part of a programme.